Dose of Brinks for St. Patrick's Day

Yes, I know I said the blog was on hiatus but some readers - you know who you are - said the blog was needed for St. Patrick's Day.

A few Irish are a key part of the story so I understood the sentiment.

So, this gives me the opportunity to tell one story from the trial's day of verdicts that I did not discuss last week, and I still do not completely grasp.

What's interesting about looking at trial transcripts is they sometimes contain information not known previously by the public - namely occasional discussions in the judge's chambers or at the bench that may still be transcribed.

One such moment happened the day of the Brinks verdicts. A request had come from the jury forewoman to meet with U.S. District Judge David Larimer, the judge informed the lawyers late in the afternoon. She wanted to bring another juror along.

The proposed meeting, according to the note, related to "a death," Larimer told the lawyers. He said he knew nothing more.

The lawyers encouraged Larimer to meet with the jurors. It was unclear whether they were speaking of a death connected to a juror or a death connected to the criminal case.

Felix Lapine, the attorney for retired Rochester police officer Thomas O'Connor, told Larimer he wanted to ensure the jurors weren't discussing Damien McClinton, who'd been fatally shot at the Genesee Brewery when he and O'Connor both worked there as security. O'Connor, who would be acquitted of the charge that he robbed the Brinks depot, had been questioned about McClinton's killing.

Larimer noted that McClinton had been mentioned only in passing at the trial and it would be odd for the jurors to discuss that topic. Before he and the lawyers could decide a next step, another note came from the jury saying the earlier message could be ignored.

Larimer chose not to ask any questions about the "death" - and whatever it may have been - and very shortly thereafter the jurors returned with their verdicts. And I have no idea just what the message was about.

And now, truly, the hiatus begins.

(To read the initial coverage of the discovery of Ronnie Gibbons' remains, click here. To subscribe to notifications of this continuing narrative blog, click here. To read past installments, click here. Notifications will also be sent via my Twitter account @gcraig1. )